Day 36 – Today is Valentine's Day and it isn't always the happiest of days for everyone. I have had a gamut of experiences throughout the years. However, it got me thinking about where Valentine's Day started. I will be pulling a reference from: http://www.infostarbase.com/holidays/valentines/origins.php
The roots of St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.
Pope Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name.
This is really only the tip of the iceberg with regard to Valentine's Day. Valentine was a priest who would marry these young men and women. When Claudius came along, he felt that the men were distracted with women and called all engagements off. When Valentine continued to marry them in secret, he was arrested and later beheaded on February 14th. Ok, so we have set the scene here. ..a pagan feast to celebrate fertility where later men were not allowed to get married so Claudius would have enough men in his army.
Things changed many years later during the Middle Ages when small notes were handed out to loved ones. However, it really makes you think about how we got started thinking this was completely a holiday about showing your love.
As I was doing my mile today, what struck me was how we have the ultimate valentine. Why do we get caught up in flowers, chocolates, and words that are fleeting? We have the ONE who gave everything for us and that is the ultimate love offering. Chocolates will grow stale, flowers will wilt but God is everlasting.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."- John 13:34-35
No comments:
Post a Comment